Bells for Her
by Anxia
Summary: FFVI - Celes, on Locke and Terra's wedding day.


Bells for Her  
  
a.n: Pointless Celes angst. Joy. I don't know why I wrote this, but please be aware that there is Locke x Terra in here, as this may upset some of you diehard Locke x Celes fans. Also, there is mentioning of Leo x Celes. I don't know why. I was hoping you did.  
  
Anyway, you read now. There's no need to listen to my insipid babble.  
  
~*~  
  
Smile, now.  
  
And she did smile, when Locke came to her and asked her for a dance; she allowed him to hold her hand in his and twirl her about the dance floor, and she indulged him with a smile and a laugh when he said that she would make a lovely bride one day.  
  
Yes, she would make a lovely bride - but not his.  
  
She scolded herself for thinking such thoughts. Really, this was Locke and Terra's wedding day - she should be happy for them.  
  
Yes, Locke and Terra's wedding day. Not hers.  
  
Celes sighed. Really, after all those years of stifling her emotions and the impending insanity, one would think that she would be better at this.  
  
"Celes? Something wrong?" She looked up to find Locke gazing at her, a worried look on this face. She mumbled something about feeling tired in reply; he nodded in understanding and took her back to her seat, as if she needed someone to personally escort her there.  
  
"Will you be okay by yourself? If you want, I can-"  
  
"Locke, I'm only feeling tired, not deathly ill. I'll be fine after a few minutes." This seemed to be good enough for him, and he left to converse with this lovely bride. However, after a few minutes, she found that Terra was leaving Locke's side and heading towards hers.  
  
"Are you okay, Celes? Locke said that you weren't feeling sick."  
  
Celes signed once again, shaking her head. "Typical Locke. I was only feeling tired, and he found the need to blow it completely out of proportion."  
  
Terra laughed in agreement. "You're right, that is a typical Locke thing to do." She sat down, and a smile crossed her lips. "He's not so bad, though."  
  
" 'Not so bad' is a bit of an understatement, considering the position you're in." Terra laughed again, a slight blush covering her cheeks.  
  
"It is, isn't it?" Flushing a deeper shade of red, Terra looked away from her Celes and to her hands, folded in her lap. "Celes. Have you ever--?"  
  
"General Leo." The moment after the words came out of her mouth, Celes realized the question that Terra had actually meant to ask, and what a horrible mistake she made. While her response wasn't exactly a lie, it certainly wasn't something Terra needed to know.  
  
"L-Leo?" Terra stammered, choking on her words. "You and General Leo?"  
  
For a moment, Celes considered letting Terra stay under the impression that she and Leo were intimate. After all, it was the truth, and even if it did hurt her, she had Locke to comfort her.  
  
'You're pathetic. Locke may be her husband, but Leo was her first love.'  
  
"It's not what you think it is." Celes finally muttered. "What Leo and I had was-well, it wasn't so much of a relationship, it was more of a - well, it was complicated." She finished lamely. She hadn't done much of a job of assuring Terra that she and Leo weren't an item, but honestly, she didn't feel very much up to it at the moment. In truth, it wasn't very complicated at all - they had a brief affair that lasted about six months before Kefka made it his personal business to inform Gesthal and they were told to stay the hell away from one another. But Terra didn't need to know that.  
  
"Oh." Terra said, and her gaze broke away from Celes to examine the wine glass in her hand. Celes could tell that she felt confused; she felt envious of Celes after discovering her relationship with Leo, but she didn't know why. Celes couldn't help but feel angry at the girl who sat in front of her; this was not Terra Branford, the girl who had been her best friend and who she would break into Leo's room and steal one of his ties for, but a stranger, who had stolen both her best friend and the man she loved from her.  
  
"Just forget about it, Terra." She couldn't feel angry with her - for the love of God, she had her memories and her identity stolen from her, and it was just as much her fault as it was Kefka's. "What happened between Leo and me was in the past, and it has no place in the present."  
  
"You're probably right," Terra agreed quietly, a disappointed tone evident in her voice.  
  
"Terra, why were you asking?" The young woman blushed again.  
  
"Well, I was - I mean, I've never - and Locke and I have just gotten married, and-"  
  
"No offense, Terra, but I would not be the best person to ask about these sorts of things. Why don't you ask your friend Katarin - after all, she does have children, doesn't she?"  
  
"You're right," Terra said, after a moment's hesitation. "Um, thanks, Celes."  
  
"Go." Celes said, gesturing towards Locke. "You have someone waiting for you."  
  
Terra lingered a moment longer; she had questions, but Celes was unwilling to answer them. Finally, she turned her back on her and walked away, to Locke's open arms and warm smile.  
  
They were perfect for one another - a match made in heaven. Terra needed Locke, and Locke needed her.  
  
So perfect for one another, it was disgusting.  
  
Then again, both Locke and Terra were disgustingly perfect themselves - brilliant and brave, and always putting others ahead of themselves. There wasn't a flaw to them.  
  
It was enough to make someone sick.  
  
"Please. You're starting to sound like Kefka." Celes muttered to herself.  
  
There was no use in pity. She could say it was many times as she wanted, but that wouldn't change how she felt.  
  
But Locke and Terra were in love. Despite her feelings, she would have to accept that.  
  
After all, she had no other choice. 


End file.
